Max Blumenthal : Did Trump and Netanyahu Fake Their Animosity?
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom
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Max Blumenthal : Did Trump and Netanyahu Fake Their Animosity?
Transcript
Hi everyone, Judge Andrew Npalitano here for Judging Freedom. Today is Thursday, June 4th, 2026. Max Blumenthal will be
with us in just a moment. Did Trump and Netanyahu fake their animosity? Well, who would believe them anyway?
Welcome here, my friend. Do you think that um Trump and Netanyahu concocted this animosity
much like Joe Biden did a few years ago when he pretended to be uh angry at the Israeli leader?
Well, I'm glad you brought up the context of Biden because he leaked to the same reporters when he sought to
continue the status quo and enable Israeli escalation from Gaza to Lebanon, which ultimately led to war with Iran.
He would go to Barack Ravid, the former Israeli spy unit 8200 operative who was an Israeli reservist until 2021 and is
Axios's chief dumpster. Now for Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump,
the Biden people would go to Barack Ravid. So that's who this leak was furnished to along with his fellow uh
receptacle for leaks, Mark Caputo. this character who would be uh applying for
food stamps and various other welfare benefits if the government somehow collapsed because he would have no source of reporting is a self-described
Florida man whose whole career has focused around being the water boy the
gangaden for Marco Rubio. And so I assume this leak came from Marco Rubio based on what I know about these
reporters. Actually, a couple weeks ago, I called Mark Caputo Marco Rubio's water boy because he p pumped out a totally
fake story about Cuba planning to attack Key West with 300 drones. Obviously, it came from Marco Rubio. And he responded
by calling me Marxist Max Blumenthal, who's funded by Iran. That was his response. I mean, these characters are so thin skinned. Barack Ravid when
everyone was calling him out for like help working with Trump to manipulate markets and send all these fake messages
about negotiations working with Iran. Uh he accused all of his critics of anti-semitism. So these are thin-kinned
characters who are deeply unprofessional and they're very useful to power. So Trump and Mar and I think Marco Rubio,
people around Trump wanted this message out there that Donald Trump was livid at Benjamin Netanyahu. Why? Number one, the
Republican base is not happy. Elements in the Republican base are not very happy with Netanyahu and they want to just see Trump uh demonstrating some
strength and independence from this tiny little apartheid state that seems to control him at every turn. Uh number
two, Donald uh Trump had h um to call
off or had to impose pressure on Netanyahu to not destroy or bombard the
Dia district of Beirut, which had been evacuated a day before by the Israeli
army. they were going to attack the civilian base, the Shia community, uh because
they could not uh they could not succeed in their campaign against Hzbollah in southern Lebanon. And this was also the
result of pressure on Netanyahu from far-right elements in his own coalition like Idomar Bengir and Bezel Motrich. We
can talk about that in a second. Um the the operation had to be stopped because of Iran. The real reason was not Trump
finally decided to stand up to Netanyahu. It was that Trump was afraid that Iran would actually launch counter
strikes on US targets in the region and even attack Israel and that Iran was beginning to deter US and Israeli
aggression in a way that it hadn't before. Uh in addition, Donald Trump wants to relieve the economic pressure that Iran has imposed by basically
besieging the besieur by closing off the straight of Hormuz. And there are other economic cards that Iran can play. So all of this has to do with Iran under
finally uh getting out of the tit fortat dynamic that had colored US Iranian
military conflicts in the past and actually establishing escalation dominance through as asymmetrical warfare and pulling Trump's card. Trump
is afraid now of going back to war with Iran. And so in order to look strong, he leaked this story or Rubio leaked this
story that Trump was just furious at Netanyahu for continuing to escalate.
But this is actually story of Donald Trump's weakness in the face of Iranian strength.
And of course, there was no noticeable letup on the invasion in southern Lebanon and even the attacks on the Beirut suburbs, was there?
Well, the Bay Okay, Donald Trump said he convinced Netanyahu not to send troops to Beirut. Like,
well, he actually said the IDF is turning around his phrase.
8 minutesYeah, I think he was like back in 1982 in his own mind, uh, Israel wasn't going to send troops. was going to send US-made GBU bombs into apartment
buildings all across Dahi and to slaughter civilians and just destroy for the sake of attacking the Shia
community. there were but so Trump I don't even think he understood what he had stopped and so in order as Israel
pulled was forced to pull back this air campaign from Daha which is the southern district of Beirut that is the Shia majority district they escalated on the
city of Ty which is a biblical era city on the Mediterranean that is um very
close to the militarized frontiers of Israel in southern Lebanon and they just began attacking civilian areas in that
city as as they continued their assault on civilians across the south, killing first responders, um killing just uh
civilians in their cars, on motorcycles, and then claiming, "Oh, we attacked Hezbollah targets." This was in
violation of the uh ceasefire that they've been violating since November 2024.
It's also now a violation of this this fake ceasefire that was just agreed upon by Lebanese authorities who do not
represent the Lebanese public who are in completely illegitimate government operating absolutely outside the Lebanese constitution to negotiate with
Israel through the US for a ceasefire that puts all of the onus on Hezbollah to disarm and to stop defending Lebanese
territory but almost nothing no impetus on Israel to withdraw. And they're using the US, a government which is
essentially controlled by Israeli forces, the Trump administration, as their mediator, not involving regional
mediators such as, for example, Egypt or Turkey, uh, powerful regional countries.
So, it's an invalid ceasefire, which Israel is, um, violating. Hezbollah is retaliating. They have fired launched
rockets into northern Israel uh today and their FPV drones. These firstperson
view drones which are linked to fiber optic wire and impossible to jam. They um have foiled all electronic
countermeasures continue to torment Israel. A an Israeli major general, one of the highest ranking figures in the
field, escaped an assassination attempt from one of these drones by just a matter of seconds. This was just reported today. So, Israel really has no
uh clear means of winning this war except by attacking civilians. And that means that the pressure will continue to
grow on Netanyahu, whose electoral coalition is coming apart at the seams from the extreme figures to go back and
attack Dahi. And at some point, I think it's reasonable to expect given the irrationality
of Israel and the sheer blood lust that they will attack Beirut. And in that case, Iran will come back into the
theater of conflict uh in defense of its allies in Lebanon and war will begin again and it will be a massive massive
diplomatic failure by the US or or maybe a success if you consider the forces that are really pulling the strings in
Washington. Right. Here's um uh Trump's uh posting on Truth Social. This is the
day before the supposed shouting match was concocted and well I don't know when it was concocted but when it was revealed. I had a conver I won't read
the whole thing. I had a conversation with BB Netanyahu today asking him not to go into a major raid of Beirut
Lebanon. He here you go Max turned his troops around. Thank you BB. This is just farcical that the president would
say this and expect the American public to uh to believe it. So are these negotiations
between the illegitimate negotiators for Lebanon and somebody from Israel actually going on in Washington?
Yeah, but they're fake negotiations.
Like the real negotiations were what Trump hinted at, although he doesn't even understand what they are, where he said that he he actually spoke to
Hezbollah. That's who you have to talk to.
Well, did he actually I can't imagine Hezbollah spoke with him.
No, he would have gone through the um speaker of parliament Nabi Bry who uh represents a Shia party um and has
traditionally served as a back channel to Hezbollah. At the same time, Iran's government was speaking to Nabi Bry and emphasizing
um I I think it was his counterpart Muhammad Galibah or someone like that emphasizing that Iran is not going to
leave Lebanon out of a ceasefire, especially after establishing deterrence and and claiming dominance on the
escalation ladder through asymmetrical force and control over the straight of Hormuz. Why would Iran um you know we go play go limp at the negotiating table?
This means that Trump has to force a real ceasefire all across southern Lebanon in order to get Iran to the
table to relax its chokeold on the straight of Hormuz. Exactly.
Uh and to uh relax Trump's political crisis, which is the economy. I mean, strategic reserves of petroleum globally
are now at a 43-year low, and this is because of the Trump's refusal and inability to negotiate an end to the conflict with Iran.
So, you have the summer driving season coming up and you have the strategic reserves very low. Gee, I wonder what
gas will be like by the end of July. But here's a clip from Trump. Uh this is
June 3rd, yesterday, Max, claiming he spoke to Hezbollah and then a bizarre
answer to a question about how do you how do you define ceasefire? Cut number three.
We actually spoke with Hezbollah for the first time ever. We didn't know they spoke. How do you define ceasefire?
Uh pretty much the way it is. It's a different part of the world, you know.
I'd say in that part of the world ceasefire is when you're shooting in a more moderate manner.
When you're shooting in a more moderate manner. Now he's like Joe Stalin defining his own words redefining history.
Well, yeah. Well, I don't I don't think that uh Iran understands a ceasefire in that way. More moderate firing. What Iran
seems to have recognized though, and this is, you know, based on public statements I see in their media, is that
they are they're going to be a target of hybrid warfare for as long as it takes
to actually get a real deal or for the US to stand down or for US elites to finally break from the special
relationship with Israel. And that's what Trump seems to be hinting at. Um, and at the same time, he's he seems to be accepting that Israel can wage this
campaign of terror all through southern Lebanon, which really is about ethnic cleansing. Israel is actively aiming to
destroy as many homes of the of of Shia in southern Lebanon as possible and pit
Christians against the Shia population to keep them out of their communities.
Um, you know, I've seen reports of Christians actually setting up roadblocks in their communities to keep Shia out because of the amount of
pressure they're getting. You know, we'll bomb your neighborhood if you if you let too many Shia in because they'll say they're Hezbollah. This is a
campaign of ethnic cleansing and Trump isn't taking it seriously and that means that at any moment war can return with
Iran. I don't think he understands the seriousness of Iran. But Iran sent a clear message by attacking Kuwait's airport and by attacking targets in
Kuwait, a country which has been playing host to US aggression, continued US aggression on Iran after the US attacked
uh Keshum Island in Iran that Iran will actually escalate for each US attack. So
Trump I mean he he talked about a deal two weeks ago. There was enormous push back from all the Israeli Israel first
operatives like Mark Dubowitz who got him in this mess and now here he is unable to even define what a ceasefire is.
Here's um Prime Minister Netanyahu being asked. He gives a snarky response
uh about uh regime change in Iran. This is yesterday, June 3rd. I think it's a Fox interview. Press number five.
You were talking about regime change. Why is nobody talking about that now?
Why do you say we're not talking about it? I said the other day, because President Trump is seems ready to make a deal with this current regime.
Yeah, but doesn't mean that he wants this regime to stay. What is he driving at?
That a deal would not be a deal. that after Trump and and Iran entered into a peace agreement, BB attacks again.
There is every reason to believe that Netanyahu will attack Iran again or will use
hybrid warfare to create the conditions for a renewal of warfare in order to draw the United
States back in. And the clock is ticking on Netanyahu.
He doesn't look healthy when he's in public. There's something wrong. There's something seems to be kind of wrong with him. His he may actually be unseated as prime minister.
There's a seessaw of polls that last week showed he might, you know, hold on by two seats a week before. Likud would lose. The clock is ticking. The midterms
are coming up in the United States. So, he needs to get the US back in. There was an article in Israel Hyome, which is
the pro- Netanyahu adenf funded paper in Israel, hyping up the Mossad's new uh kind of Iran hybrid warfare division.
And in that article, which was basically public relations or hazah for this
supposed previously secret division that was instituted by outgoing Mossad director David Barnea.
Barna said or or the dire one of the directors of the division said if you give us all the resources we need by the
end of the year we can have regime change. So Israel is constantly trying to create this illusion that regime
change can be imposed on Iran. Uh but they also acknowledge in the same article that everything they tried including the Kurdish option when they
were going to arm all these Kurdish militias to destabilize Iran along with the protesters had completely failed.
Everything they have done has completely failed. They got Trump into this war and now they need to continuously fuel the
illusion of regime change to try to keep Trump interested. But I think once Trump finally decides there is not going to be
a replacement of the Islamic Republic of Iran and that there's not some Deli Rodriguez figure there which was part of
his original fantasy that led him into this morass. Uh then the Israelis are I mean they don't have anything left to sell him.
Who could blame New York City Mayor Zoron Mandani for refusing to march in
the Israel Day parade with people like Randy Fine and Bellisil Smootri?
Well, you know, it's it's Pride Month now and there going to be a lot of pride parades and I think, you know, if you
anyone wants to be marching with out and proud gay people, they would go to a pride parade. Um, you know, if you want
to hang out with rollick and cinjun revelers and black Indians, you go to New Orleans and you go to Mardigra. Um,
also, you know, some topless women and you throw beads at them. And if you want to um march with genocidal wanted war
criminals and out and proud baby killers who worship an ethnosuppreist apartheid state, you go to the Israel
Day parade. That's what that's what it is. That's just kind of what it's about.
Zoan Mdani understood that. This is a guy who has been involved in Palestine solidarity activism since he was in
college. He knows who's going to be at that parade and he really dodged a bullet there politically and I don't
know I mean he might have dodged a real bullet because they seem to really hate him these people. Yeah.
Kind of seemed like a JFK going to Dallas scenario where they're like we dare you to come to our parade and hate you and want to destroy you.
So he certainly dodged a political bullet as soon as it was revealed that Smotech was there.
Um the the criticism of him died down because it just dropped off the front page.
No, I mean what happened was truly amazing. I mean, I think this is this is this is part of the this was a signal moment in the unraveling of the special
relationship, especially as far as Democrats are concerned because well, you know, Eric Adams went because he's on the Israeli payroll like he was just
making a pilgrimage to the Rebe's grave, the uh Moshiach of the Habad cult recently. You know, he's he's he's
22 minutesgetting like, you know, Israel crypto deposits in his account every week. So, we don't expect much of
him, but like um Leticia James, the attorney general, um Jessica Tish, who comes from a very
Zionist family and is the police commissioner, but these are like liberal Democrats. They all went and they they
became collateral damage and all had to issue these statements like we condemn Bezel Smoltz. He's an Islamophobe. No,
he's not an Islamophobe. He's an ICC wanted war criminal who is the finance minister in Israel's government. who is
personally responsible for the settler violence in the West Bank for authorizing mass annexation of
Palestinian land, a war crime. Uh, Itsac was
let me get his name right. Sacerlof, who is a member of Kasset in Israel, was at this march. This is a figure who was
filmed uh cheering on soldiers as they entered Gaza and urging them to seize babies and dash them against the rocks.
Uh who else was there? uh uh Amihai Eliu who is another minister in the Israeli
government who has called for the Israeli military to drop a nuclear weapon on Gaza, refer Palestinians as Amalch, meaning kill them, you know,
commit genocide and called for blowing up the Alaka compound and replacing it with a third Jewish temple. They were all brought there by the Israeli
consulate and now there's this, you know, to turn down the temperature. The Israeli consulate said, "Well, we didn't tell all the Democrats marching." Well,
what do you think attracts them to this parade? Again, it's like, you know, gay
people go to a pride parade. Zionist fascists go to an Israel day parade because it's an ethnosuppreist state
that is filled with fascists in their ministerial positions. I personally had
wandered upon Israel Day parade many years ago. I was just like walking through Central Park. I didn't even realize it was the day of of the parade.
And you know, I was shocked by the displays of hatred that I saw and wound up like having a uh halfhour
conversation with members of the Jewish Defense League um handing out, you know, uh placards that said Kahana was right
and you know, telling me how much support they're getting. You know, you can just you can just un I mean I you
have to understand what Israel is to know what you're getting into. And so that's how mom Donnie dodged this bullet and the rest of these Democrats need to
be held accountable for participating in this parade.
I can't resist asking, have you heard from Congressman Fine since he ran away from you in the Capitol building?
Well, I mean, again, like Randy Fine is very outspoken and one of the nastiest, most incendiary anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian figures in Congress.
But the thing that struck me when I challenged him was just how meek he was and how he kind of crumpled once he was lightly questioned. And so, you'll never
see him going into an adversarial atmosphere anymore. All of his appearances in the media are limited to Fox News or Newsmax and uh you know
those sorts of channels. These these are figures who can't be challenged directly. I would love to see a debate with him and his opponent Dan Bilzerian.
I mean that that would be uh worth watching.
This is his uh opponent for his re-election bid in Florida. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Max, thank you very much.
Thanks for all of this as always. All the best. We'll look forward to seeing you again soon, my friend. Thanks a lot, Judge. Thank you.
Wow, a terrific analysis that you really don't get from anybody else of this depth. Uh, coming up at 2:00 on all of
this, Colonel Lawrence Wilson. Oh, excuse me, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson.
And at , Colonel Douglas McGregor, trust the Paulo for judging freedom.

